The present invention generally relates to systems and methods of testing body fluids.
Home diagnostic testing has been popular with many patients suffering from chronic diseases or disorders, such as high cholesterol or diabetes. However, at times, there are numerous sources that can make testing difficult, thereby reducing testing frequency, which in turn can lead to dangerous or even potentially life-threatening conditions. For diabetics as well as others, their vision may have deteriorated due to age and/or the effects of the disease. This poor vision can make testing difficult. Further, low light conditions, such as occurring in restaurants, outdoors, theatres, doctor's offices, etc., can make testing difficult even for those with normal vision.
For example, the small size of modern test strips can make loading the test strip into the meter in near dark conditions rather difficult. Even in normally well lit rooms, testing can be difficult, especially for those with poor eyesight. For instance, a user might hunch over their finger or other test site during sampling, thereby casting a shadow over the finger. While current test strips are able to accurately analyze smaller fluid samples, positioning the test strip to draw in these smaller samples can be problematic, and seeing if the test strip is properly filled with these small sample volumes can be troublesome as well.
Using external light sources, such as flashlights, to provide light during testing is not a practical option because testing usually requires the use of both hands, and shadowing of the light can still be problematic when trying to view the test strip, the meter, and/or the testing site. Test strip designs have been proposed in which Organic Light Emitting Diodes (OLEDs) are integrated into the test strip so as to light around the sample chamber. However, these designs have several considerable drawbacks, including expense, low/variable light output, testing interference/contamination, and failure to facilitate test strip loading. Thus, there is a need for improvement in this field.